The Elegant Farmer — Local services in Mukwonago

This place was kind of hit and miss. We went for the Harvest Festival, but it was raining so the orchard and other activities (like the hayride) were closed. The only thing to do was go shopping in the Smiling Barn. Many of the goods can be purchased elsewhere for cheaper, so we stuck mostly to things that had Elegant Farmer branding. Their baked goods aren't that good. The apple pie was delicious until you get to the last few bites, and then it was way too much thick crust and burnt. So, great flavor on the pie, but as someone who makes really good pie crust, I expected better from this "best pie in the area" advertising. I bought one of the giant, beautiful sugar cookies to take home, but when I opened it and tried it, it was covered with what appeared to be thick white chocolate instead of the delightful crackly sugar cookie glaze I was expecting. Yuck! It made me feel sick. The apple cider donuts were highly recommended, but turned out to have a really bad taste and texture, so we threw them away. The savory stuff was really good though. I really enjoyed the pot pie and the cider baked ham. We wanted to get pumpkins to carve, and couldn't find anything but acorn squash. The staff seemed overwhelmed with the number of people that were there, and didn't seem overly friendly. There was also a wine tasting room, which was not open, but we would probably have enjoyed that. Also, the only bathroom option here is a gross port-o-john, which I hate. If you're going to have this many people at your farm, just build a couple of real toilets! Overall, this was just somewhere for the train to go (we booked tickets with the East Troy Railroad and REALLY enjoyed that). With the orchard being closed and the Harvest Festival not having a rain backup plan, it wasn't as fun as we'd hoped when we booked...

We frequent markets and pumpkin patches this time of year. We had very high hopes as we’d read some good things. Sadly, what we encountered was less than exciting. When we arrived, it was very busy. Not surprised given the time of year. Our first stop, after finally finding a parking spot, was inside to the market. Right out of the gate, it felt like we were being corralled like animals through the entrance, in a line, and being pushed through hurriedly. There wasn’t time to stop and browse much of anything. It almost felt like an amusement park ride. Market prices were competitive. The biggest complaint we have is with the events across the street. $7 for a hay ride. But, not a nice, leisurely hay ride. This was a 4 minute, 11 mph, bumpy, dusty, uncomfortable hay ride. Then, upon reaching the “pumpkin patch,” what we found was anything but a patch. At the top of the hill, next to a busy highway, was a section of hay field that had been cut down. Within that section of hayfield were pre-picked pumpkins scattered throughout the area like Easter eggs at a mass hunt for toddlers and young children. The only “picking” was actually just choosing which one was the least damaged. After choosing our pumpkins, we managed another 4 minute “hay ride” back down the hill. At 7 dollars for the ride, I expected the pumpkins to be part of the expense. Nope. Dropped another $54 on 5 pumpkins. So, $35 for the 8 minute ride, and $54 on pumpkins. There was really nothing “Elegant” about the experience. I’d hoped for so much more. Instead, I feel like I was raked...

Visited for the first time during one of the harvest fest weekends. There were a lot of things to do for both kids and adults - corn maze, hay rides, apple picking, and more. We opted for the apple picking and were disappointed in the selection. While the orchard is quite large, it was difficult to find the varieties you were looking for and many of the trees were completely picked over - leaving either only very small and unripe apples or no apples at all. It took a while to find trees with mature apples on them and we could only find a couple of varieties of apples that were ready for picking. We chose the small half peck bag and were able to eventually find enough mature apples to fill it. I think it may be difficult to fill the larger bags. We also checked out the market which was extremely busy. It was difficult to move around and it felt like you were standing in one long line as everyone slowly made their way through the store. It somehow made us feel both rushed and held up at the same time. Got a small bowl of the chicken and dumpling soup from the deli inside the market. The soup was not great - it was mainly broth and had one piece of dumpling in the bowl. The checkout lines moved quickly and there were employees guiding shoppers to the lines, so checkout was a pleasant and efficient process. Overall, the experience was underwhelming. The best part was the train ride...